URGENT WARNING!

My heart is racing at what I hear this morning. The intensity of the moment is twisting my heart. Last week I grieved because what I heard sounded like a final altar call. In fact, it felt like it was already too late for some people. This week I hear an urgent message, and my limbs are trembling. My heart is beating fast. I want you to hear what the LORD is saying right now. NOW!

"O My people, listen to the words of the LORD! Have I been like a desert to Israel? Have I been to them a land of darkness? Why then do My people say, 'At last we are free from God! We don't need Him anymore!' Does a young woman forget her jewelry, or a bride her wedding dress? Yet for years on end My people have forgotten Me."

How you plot and scheme to win your lovers. Even an experienced prostitute could learn from you! Your clothing is stained with the blood of the innocent and the poor, though you didn't catch them breaking into your houses! And yet you say, 'I have done nothing wrong. Surely God isn't angry with Me!' But now I will punish you severely because you claim you have not sinned. First here, then there - you flit from one ally to another asking for help. But your new friends in Egypt will let you down, just as Assyria did before. In despair, you will be led into exile with your hands on your heads, for the LORD has rejected the nations you trust. They will not help you at all. (Jeremiah 2:31-37)

"O Israel, My faithless people, come home to Me again, for I am merciful. I will not be angry with you forever. Only ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR GUILT. ADMIT that you rebelled against the LORD your God and committed adultery against Him by worshiping idols under every green tree. CONFESS that you refused to listen to My voice. I, the LORD, have spoken!"

"Return home, you wayward children," says the LORD, "for I am your Master. I will bring you back to the land of Israel - one from this town and two from that family - from wherever you are scattered. And I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will guide you with knowledge and understanding." (Jeremiah 3:12-15)

"My wayward children," says the LORD, come back to Me, and I will heal your wayward hearts."
"Yes, we're coming," the people reply, "for You are the LORD our God. Our worship of idols on the hills and our religious orgies on the mountains are a delusion. Only in the LORD our God will Israel ever find salvation. From childhood we have watched as everything our ancestors worked for - their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters - was squandered on a delusion. Let us now lie down in shame and cover ourselves with dishonor, for we and our ancestors have sinned against the LORD our God. From our childhood to this day we have never obeyed Him." (Jeremiah 3:22-25)

"O Israel," says the LORD, "if you wanted to return to Me, you could. You could throw away your detestable idols and stray away no more. Then when you swear by My name, saying, 'As surely as the LORD lives,' you could do so with truth, justice, and righteousness. Then you would be a blessing to the nations of the world, and all people would come and praise My name."

This is what the LORD says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: "Plow up the hard ground of your hearts! Do not waste your good seed among thorns (the world), O people of Judah and Jerusalem, surrender your pride and your power. Change your hearts before the LORD, or My anger will burn like an unquenchable fire because of all your sins." (Jeremiah 4:1-5)

Can you hear the Father calling your name, pleading with you to come back! Can you hear His heart? Can you hear His voice? Can you hear the warning? "If you don't come back now, My anger will burn like an unquenchable fire". I can hear it, too. But what comes next shook me to my bones because I can see this happening right at this moment in the natural as well as the spiritual. This is an URGENT WARNING!

"Shout to Judah, and broadcast to Jerusalem! Tell them to sound the alarm throughout the land: 'Run for your lives! Flee to the fortified cities!' Raise a signal flag as a warning for Jerusalem: 'Flee now! Do not delay! For I am bringing terrible destruction upon you from the north."

A lion stalks from its den,
a destroyer of nations.
It has left its lair and is headed your way.
It's going to devastate your land!
Your towns will lie in ruins,
with no one living in them anymore.
So put on clothes of mourning
and weep with broken hearts,
for the fierce anger of the LORD
is still upon us.

"In that day," says the LORD,
"the king and the officials will tremble in fear.
The priests will be struck with horror,
and the prophets will be appalled."

Then I said, "O Sovereign LORD,
the people have been deceived by what You said,
for you promised peace for Jerusalem.
But the sword is held at their throats!"

The time is coming when the LORD will say
to the people of Jerusalem,
"My dear people, a burning wind is blowing in from the desert,
and it's not a gentle breeze useful for winnowing grain.
It is a roaring blast sent by Me!
Now I will pronounce your destruction!"
Our enemy rushes down on us like storm clouds!
His chariots are like whirlwinds.
His horses are swifter than eagles,
How terrible it will be, for we are doomed!

O Jerusalem, CLEANSE YOUR HEART
THAT YOU MAY BE SAVED.
How long will you harbor
your evil thoughts?
Your destruction has been announced
from Dan and the hill country of Ephraim...
Your own actions have brought this upon you.
This punishment is bitter, piercing you to the heart!
(Jeremiah 4:5-18)

These are not my words, these are God's words. WORDS OF WARNING. Words that plead with you to return to the LORD who is mighty to save. God is about to unleash His fierce anger upon the whole world. This is His time of judgment. God is going to judge His people first, and then He will judge the whole world. We, His people, have been so unfaithful. We have played the harlot under every green tree in every field and every high hill in every place we have ever been. We have wanted other things far more than we wanted God. We have worshiped other things far more than we have ever worshiped God. Now God is saying, "O Israel, My faithless people, come home to Me again, for I am merciful. I will not be angry with you forever. ONLY ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR GUILT! ADMIT that you rebelled against the LORD your God and committed adultery against Him by worshiping idols under every green tree. CONFESS that you refused to listen to My voice!"

All of this has to come out of your mouth. Face Jesus and open your heart wide. Tell Him you are guilty and you are sorry. Let a godly sorrow enter your heart, a sorrow that leads you to repentance. Let Him hold you. Let Him tell you how much He loves you. Let Him heal you of your unfaithfulness. Let Him set you free. Hide in His unfailing love for you. He will keep you safe in the coming days as the fire of His fierce anger blazes across this land.

In Jesus' name. Let grace and peace fall upon us all.
​
Terri